Synergy
by chinesetakeoutt
Summary: There are some days when the Earth is quiet. It's not a quiet as in there's no noise or interruptions; rather, it's a quiet that Eren feels from his feet, where it eventually makes its way up his legs, through his torso, residing comfortably in his brain. It is not a feeling he's accustomed to, but it is a feeling he welcomes.


There are some days when the Earth is quiet. It's not a quiet as in there's no noise or interruptions; rather, it's a quiet that Eren feels from his feet, where it eventually makes its way up his legs, through his torso, residing comfortably in his brain. It is not a feeling he's accustomed to, but it is a feeling he welcomes. Days where he has inner peace are less frequent than those that have inner turmoil. He welcomes the peaceful days because they usually imply a less strenuous day, and those, too, are far and in-between.

There aren't many trees inside the prison they call home, but Eren has one in particular he likes, a tall oak that him and Mikasa would pick fallen branches from as children. The tree carries memories with it, and sometimes Eren catches himself wondering if the pleasant times are ingrained inside the tree. Today, though, he hasn't come to reminisce; he's no longer the child that climbed trees or dug for worms, waving them around in front of Mikasa's face.

Mikasa, Eren ponders for a moment, she'll be looking for him, no doubt, if she isn't already. He smiles, deciding she can wait a few more minutes. His back touches the trunk of the tree and he slides down, slowly, slowly, slowly, the wood digging into his back. The leaves rustling from the tree are calming; they're peaceful in a way that isn't normally seen around the inner cities. Eren wishes it could be this way forever, but he knows it's only a matter of time.

For now, he'll stare up at the leaves in the tree, counting them.

_One leaf, two leaf, three leaf, four. _

There's a soft breeze and the leaves shake.

_One leaf, two leaf, three leaf, four. _

He sighs, closes his eyes, and recalls that on one eventful day Armin had shown him a book that proved there was more to life than tall walls and famine. Beyond the walls were large pools of water, bigger than any small river he'd ever known. There were tall rocks that seemed like they would reach they sky and trees so giant they must be bigger than any wall Eren has ever seen.

But these are things Eren wasn't supposed to know existed.

In a way, Eren thought, it was almost like he didn't know about them. He had never seen anything but a forbidden book with forbidden images, shown secretly to him in haste. He doubted he would ever touch the tall rocks or giant trees. He didn't believe a body of water could be so large that it could hold water for miles and miles. He wouldn't have believed it at all if he hadn't seen realistic photos.

Eren lets his fingers pull at some of the grass beneath the tree, the dirt cool beneath his fingers. Out here, by himself, Eren feels that, just for a moment, he might be at one of those places he's dreamed about. He closes his eyes and imagines that the tree above him is gigantic, bigger than anything he could climb. He turns his head to the side, imagining if he were to open his eyes, he'd see more water than he knew what to do with. But when he finally does open them, all he sees are a pair staring back at him.

"Mikasa," Eren murmurs. "You're always so quiet. You could say something, you know."

"I've been saying your name for a while now." Mikasa's tone hints she's been there for some time, and Eren suspects she's been watching him for a while. "Let's go home now."

Eren sits up, wanting, for just a minute, to drag Mikasa into the world he envisioned moments earlier. He wants to tell her he can't go home, that he's been dreaming of water and trees, and would she like to come with him? But he doesn't, and instead he stands up, arches his back till he hears a soft crack, and smiles at her.

"Lead the way," he tells her.

As the pair turn to go, another breeze passes through, but neither notice the way two leaves fall, resting softly on the ground.


End file.
